Support rises for SNP in run-up to Holyrood elections

By Staff Reporter

THE SNP is on course to win 62 per cent of the vote in next year’s Holyrood election - an increase of two per cent on its support last month - a new opinion poll has found.

A survey by TNS of 1,029 Scots aged 16 or over found that 62 per cent of those who expressed a party preference intended to vote for the SNP in the constituency section of the election in May 2016, a slight increase on the 60 per cent recorded in a poll the previous month.

However, the survey also found that only a third or fewer of the electorate think the SNP government at Holyrood has performed well on four key policy areas - the NHS, economy, education and crime.

The poll also found that Labour remained second on 20 per cent of the vote (unchanged), Conservative support up two percentage points to 12 per cent and the Liberal Democrats down two points at three per cent for the constituency section of the 2016 Holyrood election.

Tom Costley, head of TNS Scotland, commenting on the findings, said: “It is interesting that the SNP has such a strong lead in voting intentions for the Scottish parliament while only a third or fewer of voters view its performance in the past year in a positive light.

“This poll suggests that the opposition parties may find voters ready to listen to their alternative policies, although with Labour still engaged in leadership elections at Scottish and UK level, the SNP’s chief rival in Scotland is not yet ready to present a programme to the electorate.”